SEC's Beacon Hill Fraud Charges
Expand to Include Four Executives

a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter

Updated June 17, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its case against Beacon Hill Asset Management and charged four principals of the hedge fund with fraud for engaging in what the SEC called a "scheme" to hide losses that cost investors more than $300 million.

In a civil complaint filed late Tuesday, the SEC said Beacon Hill and its four principals repeatedly overstated the value of its funds to investors, claiming steady and positive returns while the investments were actually suffering huge losses....